1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to public transportation fare paying systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and a system for paying public transportation fares via a Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) access function of a mobile device.
2. Description of the Related Art
People generally pay public transportation fare with transit cards or cash in order to board a public transportation system. For example, when people board a bus, they deposit cash into a slot of the public transportation fare collection box or touch their transit cards on a card recognition apparatus, in order to pay the public transportation fare. People must complete their payment after they board a bus, because the public transportation fare collection box and the card recognition apparatus are located near the entrance door of the bus. However, when many people are lined up to board a bus, most people following a person immediately boarding the bus must wait outside the bus until the person pays the public transportation fare on the bus. This inconveniences public transportation users. This problem is due to the payment place being restricted to a particular place in the bus where the payment apparatus is installed, for example, near the entrance door.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and a system for extending the range of payment place in a public transportation system and allowing users to easily pay their public transportation fare via their mobile devices.